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Posts: 335
Location: Orland Park | I have a Mercury 225 EFI, and I got some bad news. #1, I have a blown powerhead......the #6 cylinder is shot. I also have a bad hydrolic trim which must be replaced. We're looking at $6,600 to fix everything. For a few grand more, should I just get a new 225 Optimax? Need help quick. I'm going up to Leech in 5 weeks, and Cass in 7.
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Posts: 167
Location: IL | Fix it,they ain't that hard to work on. Get a shop manual(40.00) and a torque wrench and a few simple tools. I put a crank,3rods and bearings in my 260 during Christmas and it wasnt hard at all. Best of all I saved a ton of cash doing it myself. Check out screamandfly.com best site for any type of motor repair. | |
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Posts: 172
Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio | They are easy to work on, but fixing a scarred cylinder wall is a different story. If you sleeve it you will be looking at a few thousand with warranty on the work. Unless you are a master tech, I wouldn't recommend doing the work yourself. It's a job left to full time pros. You also need to diagnose why it happened in the first place. It could happen again if the cause isn't determined. How many hours are on the powerhead? What year is it? The trim isn't a big deal except for the cost of replacing it. I'd consider re-building it. You should also get a few more quotes. That price seems a bit steep. If you're dealer is willing to trade for a good price, which is what you're talking about, I'd certainly consider that as well. You can't get a new 225 Opti for under 10 grand anywhere. Good fishin', Tyler Campbell | |
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Posts: 335
Location: Orland Park | It's a 1998, 225 EFI on the back of a 1998 519 Ranger DVS.
No chance I'm going to go at it alone. The problem, I leave for Leech Lake in 5 weeks. I talked with the dealer this morning, and he'll sell me a 2002 Optimax, brand new right from Mercury, for 10 grand. 3 year warranty starts when I pick it up. I plan on getting a 2004 521, so when I sell my 519 with a 3 year warranty, I could get a better price on an outright sale or on the trade in. | |
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Posts: 172
Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio | Hey Jim, It's such a tough call. If you knew what caused the blown head for sure, than I'd re-build. Re-powering often doesn't pay off as much as you'd like during the re-sale, especially if you have to fincance it. I'd say, if you can afford it, re-power. You'll have peace of mind, a boat to go on you're trip, and a motor that will be worth much more than one you had re-built. The troubles could go on forever if it isn't fixed right, and that could ruin more than one season let alone one trip, taking years off you're life with the stress. Trust me, I've been there. Good fishin', Tyler Campbell | |
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Posts: 656
Location: Forest Lake, Mn. | I'll relate my experiences of a few years ago and let you decide. I had a 1992 Merc 40 horse 2 stroke that I had rebuilt. Big mistake.
In '98 I took a trip up to Lac Seul and made the run up to the outpost camp. Got to the camp unloaded the boat and started out fishing got about a mile from the camp,runing at planning speed, and the motor died. Restarted it just fine, put it back on plane and died again. Did this a few times and went back to camp, didn't even fish.
Turns out that the fuel line from the filter to the carb had rotted out and there was a hole in it. Just enough gas got thru to run at slow speed but open it up and she sucked air into the cylinder and scorched one of them. Limped about with it all week as there wasn't anyway to fix it and being at an outpost there wasn't anyway to go home until someone guided me out.
Got home, had it looked at and was told that I could junk it or rebuild it. Decided that we should rebuild as it was cheaper than a new motor. Had it rebuilt for around $2,000. with a 1 year warrenty on the work. After a couple of weeks off the water waiting for the rebuild I got it back and it ran fine for the rest of the fall. But I had 1 week in Canada ruined and lost 2 weeks fishing at home.
Next summer I went to the Canadian side of LoTW for a week. The motor was just out of warrenty from the rebuild, and it started to bog down at high speeds, slow speeds it ran fine. Sound familiar? Had it checked by a mechanic in Canada. He found that the block was now cracked. Apparently when the cylinder was reboared during the rebuild the walls were a little to thin and the heat cracked the block. Time to junk it.
So now I have had 2 week trips to Canada screwed up, lost a few weeks fishing at home while waiting for the rebuild, paid $2,000 for the rebuild and I still don't have a working reliable motor to fish with. The guy who rebuilt it said that he could put a new block on it. Gee, what a surprise.
I junked the motor and went and bought a new Yamaha 4 stroke. Should have done that in the first place. I would have saved the rebuild costs and not lost more time on the water.
My advice,spend the money and get a new motor. You'll be ahead in the long run.
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Blown Powerhead...fix it or get a new 225 Optimax